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| One of my favorite vantage points on the West Marsh; photo courtesy of Ellen Dziubek |
It's been a bit of a whirlwind over the last week or so. In addition to some individual tours, we started the West Marsh dike stoning project, had our dinner with the West Marsh lease holders, hosted a shorebird walk in conjunction with the Toledo Naturalists Association and the Black Swamp Bird Observatory, removed a colossal duck blind that has been in the marsh for more than half a century, mowed accesses and stabilized boardwalks in preparation for the impending teal season, and closed on the sale of ~38-acres of our east marsh to the neighboring landowners . . . whew, what a week!
With the exception of this last one, I think I've spoken to most all of these endeavors, to some extent at least. But our selling our halves of the "North" and "Center" units of the East Marsh -- a little over 38 acres in total -- was something we've kept pretty well quiet on until it was complete. We closed last Friday, and I think all involved are quite pleased with the outcome.
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| While I didn't know it at the time the photo was taken, I'm basically pointing to the area that we just sold to the neighbor; photo courtesy of Ellen Dziubek |
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| Green heron in the shallows watching over dike project |
The premise of selling this acreage back to the previous owners was first discussed months ago. Because an artificial property line cut two management units in half, north to south, our primary goal was to reunite the two areas. Because they weren't interested in selling, we approached them about buying.
The transaction was complicated by the need for a legal parcel split and some dedicated surveying. But in the end, the property lines make much more logical sense, and both parties seem to be very happy. I know for our part it's a relief to have this situation rectified.
Nate (our intern from this past summer who is just recently back to school) is among a small group of family members who just made the purchase. So I should take this opportunity to thank him for his efforts with Standing Rush, wish him good luck in the coming academic year, and voice my excitement for what has become a really positive relationship as neighbors. Thank you for all the effort these last few months, and here's to more great things moving forward together!
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| Another great photo courtesy of Ellen Dziubek -- this one from the dike that as of this afternoon is almost completely protected from southerly winds and wave action; we hope to have the dike stone project completed in the next day or two |